This invention relates to manufacture of a confectionery material having a tacky surface such as chewing gum and more particularly relates to a process and apparatus for manufacture of chewing gum without substantial use of a rolling compound or powdered non-stick agent.
Chewing gum, commercially distributed as pieces such as sticks, tabs or pillows and which may be coated or filled, typically is produced by combining chewing gum components including a gum base, flavors, sweeteners, fillers, and binders; extruding such combined components into a slab of typically tacky gum composition material; rolling such slab into a uniform flat sheet of a desired thickness and width; scoring the uniform flat sheet into individual pieces; and ultimately packaging the resulting pieces. During processing, the extruded slab of chewing gum material must pass through a series of calender and scoring rollers to produce the ultimate product. In a conventional process, a rolling compound or powdered non-stick agent must be applied to the sheet during processing to avoid sticking or fouling of the rollers by a tacky gum material.
Use of extensive amounts of a rolling compound or powdered non-stick agent may cause manufacturing difficulties in controlling powdered material in the atmosphere, adds to manufacturing cost, creates difficulties in handling, increases processing time, may increase volatization of flavors and may create a porous non-uniform outer surface. A process which could substantially reduce or eliminate the need to use a rolling compound or powdered non-stick agent in a gum manufacturing process would be an improvement in the art.